I admire people who like to “raise the bar” a little when it comes to setting goals. Those are my kind of people. You’d be smart to get into the habit of always setting a target that makes you “reach” a little bit higher. That way you won’t be disappointed if you fall a little bit short. That’s the way to stay centered on your personal growth and development. Organize a plan of action that keeps you focused on winning. Anyone can achieve modest goals.
That’s why modest goals always yield modest rewards. Will you be satisfied with that? I was never happy with that.
I never set a modest goal for my life in my life! I always wanted to be the very best I could be, and I organized my efforts to achieve that. And it worked! I hope you share this view too! Yes, I started out with more attainable short-term goals, but they all added up to what I really had my sights set on—becoming the very best I could be in my chosen field! Once I became the world’s number-one salesperson, the only person left for me to challenge was, well, myself. And I did that too. Most of the records I ever broke were my own. I was never content with staying in the same place. I would reorganize my efforts using every tool I could get my hands on to achieve new goals.
One of the most important aspects of your organizing plan is how you prioritize the to-do list in your planner. Your priorities may differ from mine because of the business you’re in. Even so, make sure you get the priorities straight. What does the company expect of you? Where does what you do fit in?
As you know, I was in the business of selling cars and trucks. My approach was actually quite simple. If a task had anything to do with losing or gaining a customer, it was a priority— plain and simple. Nothing got in the way of that. We’re not talking about internal dealership operations, marketing, or training here. Now we’re talking about money—MY MONEY. It doesn’t get any closer to home than that for me. A customer-centered focus—that’s how I would prioritize my day and everything in my planner.
If there were other meetings or things I had to do, they were slotted around those customer priorities. Sometimes there were conflicts I couldn’t do anything about. But my customer-priority mindset made everything else take a backseat whenever possible. That’s the way I operated. I didn’t have to be told what was important. I already knew that. And my
customers knew I knew they were numero uno! That’s what counted.
The higher you “raise the bar” on your expectations, the more you must be tuned in to an effective plan of action. Once the bar is raised, not having an organized plan is a little bit like running out of gas before you even start the race. It is critical that you keep your train of thought focused on the task at hand and not drift into unnecessary distractions because you’re not ready to go. If you are properly organized, you’ll stay the course and get the job done. Train your mind on what you have to do and nothing else. You’ll hear more on that in our next chapter on Rule # 4, Work when you work.
Follow the Patterns of Successful People
By now it should be plain as day that an organized mindset is the perfect partner for your planners and appointment books to get you organized for success. In the Introduction to the book, I mentioned one of the things I did was to compare my approaches with those of other successful people in a variety of industries. I always admired what Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel accomplished when they cofounded the Amway corporation. I was captivated by the grit, determination, and hunger for success they both had. I wanted to know: What are they doing that nobody else is doing that makes them so successful? I studied their approaches and methods. I spent a lot of time in libraries and bookstores reading and researching as much as I could about how successful people like them did things. It took a lot of work, but it was well worth the time. I learned a lot. In hisbook Believe!, DeVos emphasized the importance of believing in yourself as the ticket to success. That became my story in a nutshell.
Another success story that always captured my attention was one of the most successful and dynamic businesswomen in history, Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics. This gal had smarts and guts—“Diamonds, trips, and pink Cadillacs” for her top sales performers. She was a beacon of hope for women struggling to make their mark in a male-dominated business world. Ordinary people became millionaires under her strong leadership and motivation. That connected with me greatly since it was very much my own track to success.
Another person whose words always inspired me early on in my career was Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, author of The Power of Positive Thinking. I had the privilege of meeting him later on. He became a personal friend whom I greatly respected. It must have been mutual because I had the honor of receiving his nomination for the Horatio Alger Award, which recognizes American success stories in the face of difficult circumstances.
Whenever I was drawn to individuals as models for how I would approach achieving success, it was always because two things stood out:
1. They all had positive attitudes.
2. They all respected the value and importance of time.
Today you have two big advantages over me. First, I didn’t have the Internet to help me. You do. It’s a great way to maximize your time and link you to valuable resources and contacts. Use it. Secondly, you have Joe Girard. He is the voice of experience and your champion who would like nothing better than to see you come out on top a winner. Listen to him. Organize your life for success.
RULE FOUR WORK WHEN YOU WORK A dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. —Vince Lombardi, pro football coach My mother’s love and encouragement produced the gasoline in my engine when I worked.
I think by now you know how I feel about the importance of time from our discussion in Chapter 3. Let me expand on that since it’s so critical to success. Time wasted cannot be regained. It’s a cancelled check—worth nothing. I guard my time like it is gold. In fact, to me, it’s worth even more than gold, because you can’t buy a sack of time with a sack of gold. That’s why I don’t like distractions in my life. I know they happen. But I don’t like them. The
time of my life is divided into four areas, and I don’t let anything get in the way when I’m doing any one of the four. 1. When I work, I work. Nothing interferes with my workday. That’s where I make my living. I want to be focused and left alone. 2. When I sleep, I sleep. You know I like to sleep as much as a bear. I don’t want someone interrupting my sleep at three o’clock in the morning because they have a problem. Unless it’s an emergency, that’s my time. 3. When I eat, I eat. I don’t like being bothered when I’m eating. I don’t want to concentrate on anything else. Talk to me later, not when I’m eating. 4. When I play, I play. I don’t want someone trying to get ahold of me when I’m on vacation. That time is for me and my family. Don’t call me. I’m not listening. Those are my four policies about how I regulate my time. If you follow this approach, you’ll be amazed at how much time you’ll have for everything in your life. And that’s important to understand because life is not about one thing. Your life is about more than just your job. To live a balanced life, you must pay attention to everything that’s important to you. That’s how I do it. My approach is neat, orderly, and it works. I know exactly what I expect of myself and when—and so does everyone else. Here’s the kicker, though: when it’s time to work, I go into action mode. I get off my butt and get moving. You won’t make any footprints in the
sands of time while sitting down.